LadyCrimson

Hubby and I started watching Mickey17 last night. Not exactly what I was expecting. One of those with deliberate slow pacing, including a lot of one chr's inner headspace monologue narrating. It's conceptually sort of interesting and did keep my attention for the most part but it's not, half-way through, all that compelling. Hubby wanted to go to bed so we stopped halfway. Not sure if either of us is super keen on finishing.

Seeing this made me wonder - I've always known who is/recognize his face immediately, as if I've always known him from some child-age point etc, but I have no idea why. Looking at his body of work - I still have no idea why. I always figured he was in a lot of made for TV movies/series from the 80's or early 90's or something that I saw, but apparently not. How odd. Maybe he was just interviewed a lot on talk shows or something? I think his biggest thing was the TV series Everwood, early 2000's. Which I never saw (do remember the ads/articles tho).

Becoming curious about The Alters - but my fear is there will be too much sense of time or progression pressure for my liking (vs. feeling more freeform). And that I won't be able to tell within the steam 2hr window etc. I'm not sure, still investigating. But sure sounds like an interesting, maybe "higher concept" survival/base/management/rpg. Only a bit over $30 tho, might give it a shot. 7 Days experimental 2.0 is available, sounds/looks like crud. Imma gonna have to mod the poop out of it to make it palatable. Or just skip it. The Fun Pimps really are the UnfunPimps (as well as the can't stick to anything, I'm not sure they ever really play their own game, Pimps) these days.

Hubby away for the day. He has appointment with back surgeon in a couple weeks, then a couple days after he'll be away for four days. Thus Party Time! ...which these days basically means the same as always, except I can take off headphones and turn the volumes up really loud 24/hrs a day.

^ I'm of the mind that just like with tv/films/streaming, covid wasn't helpful. It gave the big corpo's this idea that those boosts from people being stuck at home was the new normal. And I feel like so many publishers have forgotten (again) that putting all your trillions into one basket isn't a safe bet forever. Sure, have the giant blockbuster aimed game, but pair it with lower budget/risk, less known or new IP's. How else do you get a new "blockbuster" IP of the future. People are fickle and get bored of any trend, eventually. Especially if they think they aren't getting value for their purchase, whatever value means to any individual. That all said, for me personally, I'm not holding my breath anything I'd like re: gaming is going to become the new mega trend again. I don't think anything I super-want/like would ever be considered re: AAA anymore. One just has to look for the smaller games, find that diamond (or maybe at least an emerald .... ) in the rough for one's personal tastes, somewhere. They're out there.

Since more and more I don't tend to replay more structured/non-sandbox games (I try/want to do everything I can in a single mammoth play), I don't like too many consequences either, if said choices/consequences locks you out of large areas/aspects of the game per run. But as I've said many times, I'm not at all a role-player and get zero immersion/care with feeling like I had impact in some game world. Just gimmie my silly mage hat. Or maybe a baker's hat. And a turn to cheese spell.

@Sven_ Most giant AAA these days are aiming towards "the masses." And if I've noticed anything, it's that the "masses" generally don't want consequences. Even if they think they want choices, they want choices without consequences. "I waltzed into a town and killed everyone who looked at me funny. now I have a quest that wants this NPC but I killed them, so I can't (turn it in, talk to, get rid of a quest in my log), is there any way I can I still do the quest, I heard there's good item, I don't want to reload/start over etc." I'm lazy these days and I generally want more sandbox than choices, but even I look at what so many post in game forums and shake my head. Btw, overall you probably wouldn't like Tainted Grail very much, I'm guessing - it has choices but nothing deep or hugely impactful and perk trees are pretty modern-like - but if you want consequences, you can find an area in the game with a specific thing called a croakmaw, with this special one having a giant "PET" text over it. Pet it.

(Tainted Grail) - Not a game that had me taking lots of pictures but here's a few things: The hat I was willing to murder a "friend" for. The deco follower pet you can find/get. A mix of "fugly" and yet "omgsocute" Scenery. (edit-that's a summon behind me, not a deco pet. I eventually used them for passive buffs, not damage, I liked these little ones for not getting visually in my way)

Hm. Shady agency/group/research folk. Young unaware teens likely held against their will and creepy vibes location. Typical S. King elements. Trailer isn't exciting but maybe --- WAIT. IS THAT JULIAN RICHINGS? I'm in. Ok ok probably a small role, but I'll still check it out.

Dune seems like a game I would have liked - if it wasn't a MMO/online. I know you can largely play it solo if you wish, and turn off public chat or something, but after spending a long time, once, thinking that WoW would be the perfect casual game if I could just play it Offline - nah, don't want to do that again. I've also heard the "end-game" focuses largely on MP and maybe guild PvP or some such, making solo play less viable or enjoyable. I know you're not that far along but do you know anything about that?

Tainted Grail: oh, forgot to mention, the dev's said they have plans for mod capability/tools in a few weeks/a month or something. How useful/extensive or what form this will take is unknown. But it peaked my interest a bit. they're also looking into a NG+, and extra content updating with a focus on Act3 maybe in August. So if they hold to this roadmap of updates, it's likely to improve the game a fair bit. I might replay it then to see. EDIT: to be clear, I still enjoyed the game quite a lot. It just kind of runs out of steam/started to feel too repetitive by Act3. And far too easy (over-leveling content).

Tainted Grail - after trying to "clean up side quests" for a bit, got impatient/bored (100-ish hrs) and just did the plot end thing. ---I found and got to have another convo with that chicken, in another Act. Game does stuff like this - find or go back and chat with npc's later, they may have something to say. Which is cool. ---I'm pretty sure there was a Hellraiser and Aliens reference/homage re: a couple mini-quests. ---I was level 75. I wiped the floor (bosses included) by level 50. I was not purposely grinding. The only way not to be 50+ by endgame is to not do a lot of sidequests or a lot of exploring. And there are TONS of sidequests, although many could easily be missed. This probably adds to replayability for many tho. ---Act3 is definitely the smallest. I still liked exploring it, but its main focus is to sorta barrel you to the Final Bit. That said, you could still spend a fair bit of time doing all the back and forth for factions. Or you could take the "bah humbug" way like I did and after exploring, ignore all that for another straightforward choice. Again, thanks, devs. ---Act3's multiple small faction areas were even worse in design than Act2's main town. I mean they make sense/are cool looking, but constantly going and returning to NPC's was a PITA chr. pathing/running wise. ---that first big patch added a "continue" option, so you could go back and try to grind the other 825,000 chr. levels if you wish. Why anyone would want to, I don't know. Act1 -- grade A Act2 - slower to get going but a solid grade B all told Act3 - grade C+, mostly for size and feeling a bit rushed/less dense/fullfilling A lot more RPG than Diablo, not as RPG as the best Baldur Gates (whichever one you think is that).

I might actually buy a remastered FO:NV. Not 100% for sure sure, but there'd be a good chance if it was done well (subjective I know).

Tainted Grail - still in Act2 ----came across a goblin thing wearing a silly big red mage hat. I wanted that hat. But he wanted a dictionary. So I gave him one. We became friends. I taught him to read. He gifted me with a Summon goblin spell. Pffft, I have no interest in that. I thanked him, left. Then I snuck back in, killed him with a fireball, and took his hat. FASHION OVER FRIENDSHIP. ---I was wrong re: the night-boss guy being Act2 specific. It's attached to the MQ main thing - if you finish that, he starts appearing. So technically you could start seeing him in Act1 while still low clvl. I did manage to smite him after gaining some levels and adding new perks. ---so many crafting resources seem to have no use. All I make are heal/mana pots and one or two foods and I barely need those anymore. After Act1 you barely find/get any new recipe/blueprints of any kind. A few. I don't craft armor/weapons (you'll find better), I only upgrade armor. eg, crafting/cooking/blacksmithing had potential but is hugely undercooked and in the long run you only need a few key resource things. The zillions of other things in my stash seem extraneous. Maybe they'll add in more crafting options later. ---a "big patch" is supposed to come out Fri or so, so I'm avoiding progressing too much until then. Hoping for more bug fixes, and I think such isn't typically retroactive on saves. Maybe they'll tweak balance stuff. By mid-Act2 I'm back to being totally OP'd (for Normal). ---I might start over. Conclusion so far: Fun game for the price, engaging, great first impression, but starts to feel like it needed more time in the oven. I'd generally advise most to wait a few months for more "big patches" before buying. Although if you don't, it's still great fun for many hours. It just could be .... more fun, better QoL, better balance, quests that are less easily broken, stuff like that. EDIT: still better than Bethesda

The normal bonfire can be used for general resting/point distribution, cooking. And with cobweb-fuel, recharge Arthur ability (with cobwebs) If you fuel bonfire itself with 10 cobwebs, it also lets you FT from the bonfire, do alchemy with it, ID items. I think a skill/perk tree lets you do even more, like blacksmith in it. And I think fueling is how you can rest in the Wyrd protected/shielded (a barrier like around towns) but I can't recall offhand. the "wild" campfires will definitely wake you up if you try to rest at night. Cobwebs drop from enemies ... at night. Although there are some day enemies that can drop a little. The special night enemies drop more at once. Un-id'd items only drop at night. I currently have 1300 cobwebs stored up.

Not familiar w/Skyrim but - ---there's a mild bell sound when he spawns. He spawns some distance away and there's a brief moment/period before he starts "hunting" you giving you time to bonfire or escape other ways. ---there's no specific event/timing re: his spawning that I can tell. You go beyond safety zones/warded bonefire at night and maybe you'll get to explore a fair time, or maybe you'll hear that bell/see him spawn in really quick. ---you'll see him/hear the bell in Act1, but he just appears on the edge of visual ranges then fades away - he doesn't start hunting you until you've reached Act 2 ---he scales I think, but skills/gear + the slow time Arthur skill as a leadup would eventually make him manageable. BUT he's immune to a lot of magic (frost, fire I think). Or maybe you could get him stuck on terrain and cheese him. ---if you manage to kill him before dawn, it's maybe a few game days before he starts up again. Edit: his purpose is to prevent players from excessively "farming" things that only drop at night, plus (I assume) just to annoy and present a skill challenge.

Some mild construction work on the house this weekend (the two shade structures, finally). Pretty noisy, couldn't sleep through it, haha. It'll be nice to have a real shade extension cover for summer tho - not just the cheap hard plastic sheeting that still lets some UV light through. Weather's heating up. Might be a pizza day. Yes, might be.

Tainted Grail - Act2 ---the quests and longwinded npc's are starting to wear on me. It's not bad quality, it's just the usual me reaction. ---definitely front-loaded. Also, the night-mega guy shows up too frequently imo, hindering free night-exploration. Technically some could beat him but it's not worth the time so most just run/FT away (preemptive bonfire use becomes more needed) *2ndEdit: I'm sure at some point it's dealable, but not for a long while ---starting to encounter a few more bugs (not just fun jank) re: certain features and quests. They've been patching but I'd say after 1st act game is not quite "finished". ---the MQ in Act1 had a method to get to act2 without having to do the MQ quest/faction. I appreciated that. ---There are more skill trees then what you initially see ---still love the item/finding stuff and exploration feels rewarding aspect ---Direct magic is good, summons however kinda suck. Wouldn't bother until their AI is better. Haven't bothered with melee, parry window looks really tight EDIT: also, re: parry, tap the button, don't hold it ---there are respec potions - you get a small number from exploring, saw one npc selling them but expensive ---3rdEDIT: there is no level cap - or rather, technically there is, but no one is ever going to reach it legit Still liking it/finding it fun. The Wyrd-night-boss mechanic is the only thing I really dislike.

@BruceVC As long as the difficulty feels good for you/is what you want. Besides, if it starts to feel too easy with later game progressions, I assume you could just remove some party members then, when you feel like it? I mean, sounds fine to me - like turning up difficulty if a game starts to feel too easy. Back when I was still more - motivated - I remember in BG1, after the first play, every restart I kept removing party members (4 max, then only 2), until I finally tried to solo run it (probably didn't finish but I think I got semi-far) and in MM7 sometimes I'd let party members die and never revived them, heh (had to create four, couldn't tell them to leave). Party members are just difficulty slider options. Edit: and/or strategic challenges

I haven't played this game so know nothing specific, but in general terms, I'd say since extra party members are not the intended party size the game encounters "expect" and were designed around, I would put it in the unbalanced modded category - whether you want to call it a "cheat" or not is up to you. And in SP, who cares. Do what is fun for you, imo. I mean, it's fun to alter rules sometimes, whether a little or a lot. Having all companions in FO:NV was pretty much a "win" thing for that game, but it was hilarious. Also, made for a better dance-mod line.

I'm apparently wrong. At least a couple enemies that only appear during the night-fogs do scale. One isn't a big deal, the other is. I see one of those, I run away. Night = all enemies are a little stronger then during the day, but these two are night-specific spawns.

Hubby had a new round of MRI/x-rays done and sent to a surgeon for analysis. The non-surgeon back doctor has now also mentioned disabling/removing (something) the nerves around the affected spine/vertebrae, re: pain management, if the back surgeon doesn't think disc/other major surgery is a course. Which sounds better than spinal fusion (maybe) but then again, pain exists for a reason. Wouldn't want to have zero pain to let you know if you're over-extending. As always we'll see. When they mentioned the nerve disabling tho, I have to say that what lept into my mind immediately was Serenity/Mal and the "shrapnel tore out that nerve cluster" moment.

Tainted Grail: ---I had a long and intriguing conversation with a chicken who had a long backstory. ---some side quests (dunno about MQ) can have choice consequences too, which can alter rewards or access/who survives, or just offer different conclusion to a "tragic tale." More than MMO/Diablo questing, but not as in depth as some. -- VA's are hit and miss, sometimes they're great (who voices Arthur? what a great voice) sometimes they're very mediocre. ---there is no level scaling within an Act area, so difficulty re: each one will be front-loaded. That is, could be super hard/die all the time in the beginning, then you're 1-shotting everything by the end of Act depending on how much you've explored and build/items/upgrades etc. ---loot appears non-random, at least the good loot. I suppose a deranged peasant randomly drops "fancy underpants" instead of "underpants" at times. ---I am told when the story ends, there is no "continue", but you can travel between Acts to finish things before that ---town stash box is infinite. Player inventory is weight based but there's ways to up it and it hasn't been a real issue even for a picker upper like me. If one *wants* it to be an issue, just don't increase weight limit. (EDIT) items with 0.0 weight do appear to weigh something. You won't notice with a stack of 10 such, but having 1000 arrows and 1000 various picked herbs in your backpack will still weigh you down a fair bit. Dunno if intentional/bug. Just saying. ---Beyond jank, have run into minor glitches but nothing terrible (yet). Still just simple, old fashioned, tightly/fast paced crpg fun. My current "concern" is the entire game may be "front loaded." eg, Act1 may have had the most time devoted to it, it feels full, planned out, interesting. I've played games like that where after that, it becomes less interesting, shorter, etc. That said, there's 25-35 hours to be had from Act1 alone - more if you're the type to seriously linger.

Tainted Grail - ok, I officially like this game. I don't think I'd say I love the game, but I sure do enjoy it. My description of overall gameplay/feel, from my game-life experiences, might go something like this: Elder Scrolls+Might and Magic 7 (or similar)+Diablo (the darker themes). --There's this weird charm, and old-school crpg flavor/nostalgia (including the jank and cheese here and there) that I'm getting while playing and exploring. I can't explain it. --I was in a tavern and some drunk side npc's at a table started debating to each other whether if you removed Excalibur but damaged it slightly, but then repaired it, was it still Excalibur (in the sense you could still become King for removing it). Their convo went on and on and I just stood on the stairs listening to it. It was pretty funny. --dual wielding two different spells, baby --initial slow rate of progression or good gear finds feel satisfying That said, there's still my personal "too many quests, bah!" irritation. More than half the NPC's I talk to want to give me little side quests and my log gets bigger and bigger. . I so have issues re: "I'll head off in that direction for that" but then totally sidetracked by finding an underground huge water cave/secret and forget. Temper expectations (it's not a polished AAA/uber graphic game) and for the $45, it's a pretty fun time. I'll be very interested in what this dev team comes up with next.

Well, I liked the prologue demo (it was still .9 vs. 1.0) enough to buy Tainted Grail. It is sometimes a bit janky/unpolished, combat is ok and so far straightforward, although for those that like "hit impact impression" or smarter AI - probably not going to find it here. Easy difficulty for me is almost too easy, Normal sponged it up more than I like. Wish there was an inbetween but oh well. It has the learn by using/doing, which led me to crouch-walk into a wall for 10 minutes just to see if that worked, and it did. Haha. The wandering around picking up everything, cooking, alchemy, swimming out to see if a boat was lootable, copious lore notes everywhere, satisfies the exploration/looter in me - that aspect doesn't feel "empty" and the pacing/design of exploration is quick/good, at least so far. I haven't yet had any major performance issues or trouble finding decent settings vs. 60ish fps, but there is occasional (shader loading?) singular hitching sometimes, like on a first spell cast. It wasn't in the demo, so perhaps a patch will come along. Dunno if I'll like it to the end, but it certainly has that early "lI'll just look around one more corner" vibe down pretty well.